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Phoenicopterus ruber in Lake Bogoria
Photographed at 10:06 am on 10 February, 2014 in Lake Bogoria National Reserve, Kenya using an EOS 1D X camera and an EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II super-telephoto lens.
ISO 800, 1/4000 sec., f/5.6. 400mm focal length, handheld Manual exposure.
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Due to the flooded lakeshore, we had a bumpy ride on the hillside overlooking Lake Bogoria. A hare, several female greater kudu and various birds had enlivened the drive.
Upon reaching a geyser area, Anthony produced eggs to cook in the boiling water. This Phoenicopterus ruber, Greater Flamingo, was quietly wading in the water, its color drawing our admiration.

The following text is quoted from an article posted at mongabay.com
<<It's not easy to find a single word to describe witnessing hundreds of thousands of flamingos filling up a shallow lake in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. 'Spectacle' comes to mind, but even this is not wholly accurate for the surreal pink crowd. However one describes it, this biological wonder may be under threat as Tanzania plans to mine in a flamingo breeding ground that is not only regionally important, but globally. Astoundingly, over half of the world's lesser flamingos (between 65-75%) are born in a single lake in northern Tanzania: Lake Natron. This shallow salt lake provides optimal habitat for flamingos and their chicks as the caustic environment keeps mammal predators at bay. But conservationists worry that plans to mine soda ash—also known as sodium carbonate, which is used in making glass, chemicals, and detergents—would disrupt the sensitive birds' breeding grounds, threatening the species and putting a damper on East Africa's tourism industry. Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete recently resurrected the plan to mine in Lake Natron after it was abandoned in 2008 due to concerns from Tanzania's National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) that mining would impact the birds' breeding success. "There is no need for further delay," Kikwete said, "because experience shows that the excavation can continue without any disturbance to the ecosystem there, environmental activists want people to believe that the move will wipe out the flamingo population, which is not true." >>
another quotation from the article
<<One thing that is clear is that soda ash mining is incredibly water intensive. If the water needed to process the minerals is taken from the lake's wetlands—and not shipped in—it could devastate the ecosystem. However, President Kikwete, who has set a goal of nearly doubling Tanzania's industrial sector by 2025, says it's in the country's best interests to mine the lake. "What matters here is the application of sophisticated technology which is not harmful to flamingo’s breeding. At times I wonder whether those who are opposing this move are really patriotic, because it seems as if they are agents of some people we don’t know," President Kikwete said, who commonly paints those who oppose his plans as unpatriotic or meddling foreigners. >>
Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0509-hance_flamingos.html?fb_action_ids=656193921095060&fb_action_types=og.likes